Those who’ve interpreted Batman comics for the big or small screen have often twisted themselves into pretzels with a desire to reinvent the mythos. We’ve seen tongue-in-cheek parody (the 1966 live-action TV series), historical faction (Batman hunting Jack the Ripper in the 2018 animated GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT), and ideas as crazy as Batman costumes with nipples via Joel Schumacher’s 1997 BATMAN & ROBIN movie. Some were sublime, some ridiculous…some sublimely ridiculous.
One of the more radical interpretations, and dare I say, a bold and successful one too, is what Amazon Prime has done with their animated series entitled BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER. Premiering two years ago and developed by Bruce Timm, one of the creators of the legendary BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES in 1992, the 10-episode cartoon series reimagined Batman as a crime fighter in a 1940s noir city setting. Grounding the adventures in both the style and grit of a hard-boiled detective saga, the show stood out with its moody vibe, period details, and blunt dialogue. Gotham was a city filled with thugs, miscreants, and mobsters, and the city needed Batman, since the police had grown largely ineffective. The show was dark, mean, and tense – a brilliant spin that was definitely for adult audiences.
Now, in season two, those characteristics have become even more prevalent. Batman doesn’t feel all that different from the 1992 classic looks-wise, but everything around him is even harder, more cynical, and nihilistic. It’s entertaining for sure, but something that may not serve all tastes. For example? The way the show plays with the legacy of the famed villains may strike some as too new. Take Eddie Nygma, for starters. Here, he’s not a clever, inquisitive gamester, but a loathesome mobster who gets the nickname Riddler because he loves riddling his opponents with bullets from his Tommy gun. Even worse is the Joker, no laughing clown here; instead, he’s a monosyllabic serial killer out to kill Gotham’s citizenry with laughing gas. (Some villains just want to see the world burn.) It’s such a fabulously dark tale that even when the police show up, you don’t know if they’re going to be good or bad. Batman is grave too, morose and cynical like there’s no tomorrow, but he still cares enough to at least fight for justice. Glad he’s on our side.
The show is once again graced with detailed production design, nuanced lighting, and memorable period costuming, as well as a moody 40s-style jazz score. Agnes Kim’s voice direction is excellent here, recalling the work of legendary Andrea Romano from the original show, and the character designs echo what Timm and Paul Dini did so distinctly back in the 90s. Each episode is well-written and directed, with a lot of attitude and edge.
You’ll remember that edge was evident front and center in the Emmy-winning HEART OF ICE episode that introduced Mr. Freeze. He may have been the familiar face from the rogue’s gallery of the comic book series, but the true villain of the story was the corporate bigwig who pulled the research funding that doomed Freeze’s wife. In BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER, a similar edge is given to the character standing in for Poison Ivy. She’s the daughter of a retired policeman turned florist, and when a Riddler shooting rampage takes her dad’s life and one of her eyes, it turns into a twisted revenge plot on par with that of Freeze’s.
There may be those who feel that such a venture isn’t breaking new ground, either, as the Batman comics started in 1943 when noir was the norm. And it’s never really gone away, as evidenced by the hit live-action series SPIDER-NOIR, which traffics in a similar reinvention for Spider-Man and is also available on Amazon Prime. Still, this take on Batman captures a vibe that befits a worried, cynical nation at present. The character may be fighting for the soul of America after WWII in the show, but it echoes much of what we’re all grappling with day in and day out.
For a period piece, BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER couldn’t be more timely.
